Hundreds of people came out Tuesday and staged a die-in in front of San Francisco City Hall to honor all those transgender people who have died violent deaths.
Wearing bright clothes and makeup, many of the friends and supporters of 36-year-old Taja De Jesus, came out not only to remember the woman who was killed on Sunday in the Bayview District, but to decry violent death in general.
"The fact is we're being killed at an alarming rate," said Breanna Sinclair, a transgender demonstrator. "We say the city is safe because there's a huge support of LGBT community, but now I'm starting to realize nowhere is safe."
San Francisco police said De Jesus was fatally stabbed on the steps of her apartment in San Francisco's Bayview district earlier this month, and was found dead in the stairwell inside a building in the 1400 block of McKinnon Avenue. Her suspected killer was found hanged of an apparent suicide a short time later, according to the SF Weekly. Authorities have said they don't believe this was a hate crime. "This was not a random act of violence," San Francisco police officer Albie Esparza said.
Organizers gathered late Monday at San Francisco LGBT Center to prepare for the demonstration.
Before the die-in, her mother spoke to NBC Bay Area.
"Her death was not in vain," Pamela De Jesus said. "I think all lives matter. Everybody's lives matter. Trans lives matter."
NBC Bay Area's Terry McSweeney contributed to this report.
